Alexander Mattison hungry to take Vikings lead and opens up on Dalvin Cook relationship after stepping out of his shadow
ALEXANDER Mattison is ready to take charge of the Minnesota Vikings backfield after emerging from Dalvin Cook’s shadow.
Mattison, 25, heads into Vikings training camp as the lead back and wants to spearhead their Super Bowl hopes.
Four-time Pro Bowl running back Cook was released by the franchise and remains a free agent.
That has thrust Mattison into the starting role, and the fifth-year back has learned from one of the best in the business in Cook.
Mattison told SunSport: “I’m kind of just preparing with that same underdog mentality – that same always attacking mentality.
“With that you know that takes off the pressure for me and I can just go out there and do my job.
“I feel like I’m the type of player that gets going the more touches I get and the more I feel the ball.
“Dalvin made it easy for me. When I came in, he took me under his wing and showed me the ropes.
“He was the guy to tell me when I came in: ‘I know they drafted you in the third round, I know that I’m the starter but that doesn’t mean anything.
“‘Try and take my spot, try and beat me out and if you beat me and you’re the better man, then I’m happy for you.’”
“Him telling that to me was something that was like motivating and relieving because I wasn’t coming into a hostile situation.”
Mattison signed a two-year, $7million contract extension with the Vikings this year and is expected to take the lead role ahead of Ty Chandler.
He scored six total touchdowns in 2022 after playing backup to Cook.
And Mattison added: “We push each other every day. If I’m not going fast enough one day, he (Cook) will get on me. If he’s not running hard enough one drive, I’ll get on him.
“It’s one of those things where we’re going back and forth, creating a healthy bond and healthy competitive nature in that running back room.
“There’s never just one guy anymore. It’s one of those running back by committee leagues now.
“The more we can have guys on their A game and the more we can have guys not miss a beat when the starters are not in, I think that’s going to help our team the best.
“At the end of the day, we all want the same thing. We want to go and win the championship, so with that being said I have that mentality, that same mentality I learnt from Dalvin.”
Mattison recently returned to Minnesota for training camp after an action-packed trip to London.
The 25-year-old explained: “We got to go to such a great iconic event at Wimbledon, then over at Silverstone to see the F1.
“Then we also got to go to the Wireless Festival as well and connected with some of our UK fans.”
Although the Minnesota Vikings will not be returning to play in London this October, the team will remain active in the UK throughout the season. To keep updated on everything follow them on Instagram and Twitter.